Stuart McQuitty

Stuart is an enthusiastic sports and entertainment presenter who is currently the face of Cage Contender (Ireland’s largest Mixed Martial Arts Promotion) as its presenter and main commentator, which is currently being screened globally to almost 100 countries.

Stuart is a very experienced television presenter having worked on programmes in London, Derry, Belfast, France and Dublin. He first got his taste for presenting as a contestant in a CBBC show called Making It on a UK-wide search for talent in 2002, which lead to a job with Channel 9 TV in Derry/Londonderry as their entertainment presenter, hosting a weekly magazine show called The Green Room and a daily music video show called Later.

Several top UK talent agencies then tried to sign him, so after agreeing a deal with Take 3 Management a move to London followed in 2003, where he worked on a variety of shows in London and elsewhere, including Broadband TV, Junior Eurovision Song Contest, Overseas Property TV, Hot Nights Cool Places and also fronted corporate DVDs for the UK government and Royal Bank of Scotland.

From 2005 to 2014 he concentrated on running a full-time tennis coaching programme with his Smash Tennis Academy as Director of Tennis at Downshire TC, Hillsborough but sold his company in June 2014. During this period he still made time to do various TV projects as well as a lot of radio, including corporate videos for clients such as the Young Farmer Clubs of Ulster and Wilson’s Auctions.

He has appeared on UTV as a contributor to The Magazine in 2014 and from 2010-2014 has been the reporter/presenter for Setanta’s coverage of the Flora Women’s Mini-marathon as well as the main Dublin marathon, bringing his warmth and wit to a programme that is typically quite dry. As a sports commentator he has worked as the stadium announcer for Ulster rugby at Ravenhill, commentated on and helped produce Tennis Legends for UTV, and now is the main presenter and commentator for Cage Contender.

In the world of radio, Stuart has been a regular on the airwaves for the past six years in Northern Ireland as a presenter on BFBS Radio in Lisburn. During this time he was also the new music and gig reviewer for Citybeat radio in 2008 and 2009, injecting his own style into the show that won best radio programme at the CIPR Awards. Prior to this, he also worked as a travel feature reporter for Downtown radio on Take A Break enjoying the beauty of Quebec and the sheer luxury of an ocean cruise around the Baltic.

Event hosting is also something Stuart enjoys, having hosted the Miss Ireland beauty pageant in 2009 and other events such as Strictly Come Singing, the Elite Model Search and the Diva Next Door reality contest. He has frequently fronted live music events, charity balls, modelling contests and more or less anything that allows him to engage with a live audience.

He has a keen brain with a law degree background and has written articles for several papers and magazines over the years including Business Eye, Accent, and Rugby World, and has been a regular columnist in several Northern Ireland publications.

He was voted the 14th Most Eligible Bachelor in Northern Ireland according to the Belfast Telegraph in 2010 and was named in the Top 25 most eligible bachelors in Ireland by Stellar magazine in 2011. His passions are sport of all kinds, cinema, television and music. A keen athlete, Stuart trains regularly in the gym, is a member of the Ulster Over 35s tennis team, enjoys kickboxing, yoga, snooker, darts, 5-a-side football, jogging, mixed martial arts and anything that is fun and competitive. He is a former Countdown champion, a panto lead and can’t sing very well - but loves karaoke anyway.